“Race Against Time” by Public Enemy reminds me of the Stables Pub in Lake Louise. It was the best dance club ever! Within the space of an hour you could hear PE, the Dead, Paul Simon, P-Funk, the Beasties, Nine Inch Nails, Phish, Sly and the Family Stone, Primus, Blur, the Stones, Blues Traveler, the Stone Roses, and the Doors. Long live Abdullah, the greatest DJ in the world. I can’t find an embeddable video of “Race Against Time” that’s viewable in Canada, but it is an AMAZING song, go listen to it.

Day 4 – A Song that Makes You Sad: All I Want Is You, by U2. There are a lot of songs by this band that make me weep, but this one is a real Kleenex-shredder. Combine it with the video and I am DONE.

Day 5 – A Song that Reminds You of Someone:In the Road by Weeping Tile reminds me of Monie Blevins. This is a candidate for “makes me sad,” too, but Weeping Tile has a very specific time/place association for me. Sarah Harmer and other members of the band were semi-regulars at the cafe I worked at in university, and I was introduced to their music there, even though they’d pretty much broken up by then. Monie adored Harmer and I remember her playing this on the ferry over to Wolfe Island for one of the Sleepless Goat parties.

Edit: Arrgh, for whatever reason that second video won’t embed, so above is a link, anyway. Gorgeous tune.

“Tripping Billies” by Dave Matthews Band. Getting into DMB was a weird process. When I lived in Lake Louise, one of my roommates bought Under the Table and Dreaming and played it … a LOT. Like, multiple times a day. And it’s not as though I heard it and felt “Oh my God, this is the music my soul has been waiting for!” But when I left LL … it’s like there was a Dave Matthews shaped hole in my life. I bought the album for myself, bought the next one, and the next one – finally saw them live – and an obsession was born.

It’s a conundrum; people who dislike their radio singles I always want to tell “See them live, you’ll be a convert!” But concert tickets being the main way bands make money these days, tickets are expensive, and it’s tough to get your head around shelling out $70+ for a show you’re not sure you’ll enjoy. But still. See them live, you’ll be a convert. I’ve seen ’em 12 times, and I don’t regret a single one. I’ve missed the last two times they were in Toronto, and it feels like I’ve missed out on the cool kids’ party.

Anyway – “Tripping Billies.” For whatever reason, I think this is my favourite of their songs. It’s off their second album; like a lot of their songs, the lyrics make virtually no sense, but it’s got a kickass Boyd Tinsley violin solo and is generally one of the most joyful songs I’ve ever heard. See them live, you’ll be a convert:

There are sooooo many to choose from. Anything off Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours? The Charles in Charge theme song? Let’s go with “Christmas Don’t Be Late” by The Chipmunks; if I were Santa, I’d mow those little rodents down with an Uzi. Now excuse me, I have to go delete my browsing history, before Big Brother wonders why all the above are in it.

One of my resolutions every year is to write a new post at least once a week. That probably won’t happen again, but at least for the month of January I’m going to try to do one every day. I ganked this from Pam on Facebook last year but never transferred the stuff over here. So, without further ado: 30 Songs in 30 Days.

Day 1: Your Favourite Song:

“Fool’s Gold” by the Stone Roses. You know that KITH sketch where Bruce is like “I wish this song was a whole day long”? That’s how I feel about “Fool’s Gold.” It’s the rare 10-minute song you wish were longer. It’s odd, because lyrics are usually really important to me, but I couldn’t even tell you what they’re saying here for the most part. I guess at base I really am That Girl, the one who says “It’s got a great beat, I can dance to it!